Zembezia Film (Pty.) Ltd. v. Does 1-66

Filing
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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON
AT SEATTLE
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ZAMBEZIA FILM (Pty.) LTD.,
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Plaintiff,
Case No. C13-0311RAJ-RSL
v.
ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE AND
QUASHING SUBPOENAS
DOES 1 - 66,
Defendants.
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This action was filed on February 18, 2013. It is one of forty-eight
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copyright infringement actions filed during a four month period by attorney Richard J.
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Symmes against approximately 2,323 individual Doe defendants. The sixty-six
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defendants in this case are represented by IP addresses linked to on-line sharing of the
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movie “Adventures in Zambezia” between 1:51 am on November 27, 2012, and 4:51 pm
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on December 14, 2012. Although the evidence of internet activity shows that hours, if
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not days, separated each defendant’s allegedly infringing conduct, plaintiff alleges that all
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sixty-six defendants participated in a single “swarm” utilizing interactive peer-to-peer file
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transfer technology protocol called a BitTorrent to illegally copy and share “Adventures
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in Zambezia.” Plaintiff affirmatively alleges that the “swarm” aspect of the file-sharing
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justifies joinder of these disparate defendants in a single lawsuit.
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ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE
AND QUASHING SUBPOENAS - 1
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On February 25, 2013, the Court granted plaintiff’s motion to initiate early
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discovery, including the issuance of subpoenas under Fed. R. Civ. P. 45 to internet
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service providers, in an attempt to identify each Doe defendant. Only one defendant has
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filed objections to the subpoena. Dkt. # 8. Despite the fact that more than two months
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have elapsed since discovery was authorized, there is no indication that any defendants
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have been served, nor has plaintiff amended its complaint to identify the Doe defendants.
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All BitTorrent cases filed in the Western District of Washington have been
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referred to the undersigned for pretrial handling. As the full extent of this assignment has
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become clear, the Court admits to some concerns regarding both the appropriateness of
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joinder and the possibility that the judicial authority of the United States may be used to
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wrest improvident settlements from pro se litigants under threat of huge statutory
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penalties. The Court is not alone: other judicial officers in the Ninth Circuit are beset by
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the same concerns and have taken various paths to mitigate the potential for abuse. See,
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e.g., Ingenuity 13 LLC v. John Doe, No. 2:12-cv-9333-ODW(JCx) (C.D. Cal. May 6,
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2013); Voltage Pictures, LLC v. Does 1-12, No. 2:13-292-AA (D. Or. May 4, 2013).
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Having reviewed the record in this and related cases as well as the relevant
case law, it is hereby ORDERED as follows:
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1. Any and all subpoenas issued in the above-captioned matter are hereby
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QUASHED. Plaintiff shall immediately notify the subpoena recipients that they need not
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respond.
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2. To the extent plaintiff has obtained identifying information regarding one or
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more Doe defendants, whether through the service provider, defendant, or another source,
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it shall not utilize that information in any way. If plaintiff has already contacted one or
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more of the defendants, it shall file under seal all correspondence or other written
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communications (including emails) sent to defendants and a summary of any oral
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ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE
AND QUASHING SUBPOENAS - 2
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communications. Plaintiff shall refrain from any further oral or written communications
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with defendants unless expressly approved by the Court in advance.
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3. Plaintiff shall, within fourteen days of the date of this Order, show cause why
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the above-captioned matter should not be dismissed as to all defendants other than Doe 1
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for improper joinder and/or pursuant to the Court’s inherent authority to control its
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docket.
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4. Plaintiff shall, within fourteen days of the date of this Order, provide additional
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information regarding (a) Zambezia Film (Pty.) Ltd.’s ownership of the copyright at issue
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and (b) Zambezia Film (Pty,) Ltd.’s direct and indirect members/owners/stakeholders.
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Plaintiff shall provide a copy of any and all transfer statements and/or work-for-hire
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agreements supporting a determination that Zambezia Film (Pty.) Ltd. has standing to
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pursue this action. Plaintiff shall also supplement the corporate disclosure statement filed
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in this action (Dkt. # 2) by providing the registration information for Zambezia Film
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(Pty.) Ltd. maintained by the Secretary of State and identifying all members/owners/
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stakeholders of Zambezia Film (Pty.) Ltd., both direct and indirect, in the form of an
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organizational tree that reaches back far enough to reveal all individual members/owners/
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stakeholders and publicly-traded corporations.
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5. With the exception of the actions specifically set forth in this Order, the abovecaptioned matter is hereby STAYED.
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ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE
AND QUASHING SUBPOENAS - 3
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For all of the foregoing reasons, the pending motion to quash (Dkt. # 8) is
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GRANTED. The Clerk of Court is directed to place this Order to Show Cause on the
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Court’s calendar for Friday, May 24, 2013.
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Dated this 10th day of May, 2013.
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A
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Robert S. Lasnik
United States District Judge
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ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE
AND QUASHING SUBPOENAS - 4

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